The present invention relates to the selection and matching of computer generated colors output by a color printer or photocopier, and more particularly to a computer generated swatch card system for printing spot colors in a patch format so that they can be easily compared to other colors. Typical uses for the swatch cards produced include comparison of the printed, computer generated colors with reference or target colors, documentation of spot colors for a particular graphic project, and communication of colors to other color suppliers or vendors.
In addition to the common components of text and images, page layouts will often contain graphic elements that are to be printed with a specific color. On large printing presses, these "spot" colors are printed using additional individual plates, each using an ink that makes the color. On smaller printers, or in proofing, the spot colors must be simulated using a combination of the colorants utilized by the printer. These are usually the CMYK "process" inks, i.e., cyan, magenta, yellow and black. While certain standard tables exist for the simulation of some industry colors using standard ink sets, there is a general problem of finding the correct combination of colorant amounts to enable a given printer to match a particular spot color. There is a further problem of finding colorant amounts to match other targets, beyond those of spot color inks, such as colors of textiles and other colored objects.
A graphic artist or printer operator currently either accepts an approximate color match, based on simplistic or inappropriate color models for the particular printer in use, or uses a trial and error process to find a visual match to a desired spot color. It would be advantageous to provide tools that facilitate a person's matching of colors to samples. It would be further advantageous to provide a record of color samples that pertain to a particular project, such as a graphic printing project, advertising campaign, product color scheme, or the like.
The present invention provides a blank for producing color swatches as well as methods for producing and using such blanks, all having the aforementioned and additional advantages.